Take your pick, Jon Embree said Tuesday, because the Colorado coach can’t decipher much difference between the two drop-back quarterbacks who can pick apart a defense.

“Barkley and Luck are very similar,” Embree said. “Matt has some swagger about him that Luck had, a quiet confidence.”

Luck, the former Stanford standout, was the overall No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft and became an immediate starter in Indianapolis.

Barkley, USC’s strong-armed senior, is being mentioned as a top candidate to be the first player taken in the 2013 draft.

Colorado (1-5, 1-2 Pac-12) hopes to fare better against Barkley on Saturday when the Buffaloes face No. 11 USC (5-1, 3-1) in Los Angeles. Last year in Boulder, Barkley threw for 318 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in USC’s 42-17 win.

“Matt is good with his decisions and he’s accurate with the ball,” said Embree, an assistant coach for four years in the NFL. “He does a good job with coverages. So when you’re trying to mix or fool him, he’s still good at getting rid of it.

“(Barkley) can make all the throws. He can go across the field. He has very good touch on the deep ball. And he’s the kind of leader you want at that position.”

According to draft analysts, Barkley (6-foot-2, 230 pounds) would have been a sure first-round pick a year ago. But Barkley elected to return to USC for his senior year because, he said, he wanted to help the Trojans get a shot at the national championship. Until this season, USC had been ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions.

“I’m glad this is it for him,” Embree said. “I’m glad he’s leaving (after this season).”

Barkley directs a Trojans offense that never forgets about the running game (Penn State transfer Silas Redd ranks fifth among Pac-12 rushers with 95 yards per game), and his statistics don’t match those of more air-oriented statistics. Barkley’s 245.8 passing yards per game rates just fifth in the conference.

But Barkley is third among Pac-12 quarterbacks in pass efficiency (behind leader Kelly Taylor of Arizona State and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota). And Barkley’s 16 touchdown passes top the conference.

Barkley enters Saturday’s game needing three TD passes to match the conference record of 99 set by USC’s Matt Leinart (2003-05).

Barkley’s supporting cast makes the USC offense especially lethal. In addition to Redd’s punishing runs, Trojan wideouts Robert Woods and Marquise Lee may be the nation’s best — and fastest — receiver tandem. Both caught two touchdown passes at CU’s Folsom Field a year ago.

“Playing USC is what I signed up for,” Colorado junior safety Parker Orms said. “I signed up to play Oklahoma and Nebraska (as a freshman), and now I get to play SC, Oregon and Stanford. I’m going into the Coliseum on Saturday, and I can’t wait.”

Injury updates. All tests on the neck of sophomore linebacker Brady Daigh were negative, Embree said. The Mullen alumnus was taken off the field on a backboard during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game against Arizona State. He is listed by CU as “probable” for Saturday’s game against USC,